The Prince of Thieves
by Mokanz
Summary: Living on the streets isn't the easiest thing right? Well for the Prince of thieves it is. He is a skilled in breaking locks and handling daggers. But what is he hiding and why is he always so quiet? And to make matters worse MI6 is looking for him!
1. Prince of Thieves

**AN- Ok so I am really bored right now so I decided to make an Alex Rider fanfic. This is my first time trying to write a fanfic for the Alex Rider series so be nice:D **

**Disclaimer- I do not own Alex or any others of Anthony Horowitz's characters. (No matter how much I want to)**

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**Chapter 1: The Prince of Thieves  
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A dark figure ran down the streets. People protested and gave snide comments when they got pushed out of the way but the figure didn't care and just kept running. In this part of America you had to be rude and forceful to get what you want. Other wise people just walked all over you. The figure wore loose baggy jeans and a hooded sweatshirt. The hood was up so you could not see its face. The hooded figure turned into an ally way and jumped a few fences, every now and then looking behind to see if anyone was following. Slowly the figure started to slow down to a walk as they neared the familiar apartment building.

Walking in it looked like a dump. There was trash everywhere and if you knew where to look you would find thousands of rats hiding out. The hooded figure kept walking until they came to a room. Using a lock pick skillfully the figure got in easily.

"Hey! So the mighty Prince of Thieves has returned!" Came a voice when the mysterious person walked in. On an old couch that was brown (which wasn't its original color) sat a young man. He was smiling. He had dark brown hair and green eyes that looked innocent. His whole left arm was covered in tattoos each having their own story. "Get anything good?" He asked the figure.

The Prince of Thieves shrugged and pulled out a bag from under his sweatshirt. He pulled out the object in the bag and held it up in the light. The young mans eyes widened. The object sparkled sending dances of light everywhere.

"Th-that's," The young man started. "That's a real diamond!! How did you manage to get one that big?"

The prince of thieves shrugged and turned on the broken old television set in the corner of the room. The news came up and it showed a jewelry store with yellow tape all around it. "Today the cities National Jewelers got robbed." The announcer spoke. Policemen were walking in and out of the picture taking photographs and talking to the store manager. "One of their clients diamonds seemed to be missing from what reports show. The diamond was going to be put in a museum and had been brought to the jewelers to get cleaned…" The announcer went on.

The Prince put the diamond back in the bag and went over to an air vent. He pulled out the screws, removed the grate, and placed the bag into the pile of other loot.

"I can't believe it! That's amazing!" The young man on the couch exclaimed.

"What is Kino?" Another young man walked into the apartment. He had dark black hair and light brown eyes. He wore a long trench coat that hid stolen watches and necklaces. Some days he would come back grim not having sold any. But most often they had been replaced with cash.

"It was incredible Ace! Look what the Princy had snatched!" Kino pointed to the television that now showed a picture of the diamond.

"Did you really get that?" The young man with black hair asked narrowing his eyes.

The Prince nodded and crossed his arms.

"Don't you ever say anything?" The black haired young man asked annoyed.

The Prince shrugged and Kino laughed. "That's the Prince for ya! Man of few words." He stopped when he saw the black haired mans face. "Oh come on Ace! As long as he is bringing in the goods right?"

The sound of the announcer's voice droned on in the background. "Police suspect that this is the doings of the mysterious Prince of Thieves. He has been on a roll lately hitting one major store after another. Some say he is unstoppable and others just want them out of their lives for good. Police though, have trouble identifying the juvenile delinquent since no one has actually gotten a good picture of his face-" Ace had suddenly stood up and turned off the television. Sounds of sirens rang through the stillness. The three waited patiently for the noise to pass but it didn't. The look on Kino's face was complete horror. Had they followed the Prince to their hide out?

Police knocked on the door demanding for it to open or they will break through. After a few minutes of no answer they broke down the door but when they looked around there was no one to be seen. A window was left open and a breeze blew the shutters.

Running down the street once more ran the Prince of Thieves. They had all split up and decided to meet back at their usual meeting place. Running down ally after ally the Prince could not seem to shake the cops off his tail. He ran desperately trying to find some place to hide.

Thinking that he finally made it to safety the sound of sirens was heard behind him again. Wow today was just not his day. _Well time to move on to plan B. _He thought. Running in another ally he started quickly undressing. He pulled off his hood to reveal a black trucker cap. On it was the words: _Bad Boy. _A gust of wind blew and the hat flew off disappearing somewhere behind the Prince. The Prince pulled off the sweatshirt and now there was no longer a dirty young man standing in all black. No, it was now a girl with light brown hair that fell down over her shoulders. She looked no older than 14. She took the sweatshirt and threw it in one of the nearest dumpsters. She wore a tight black undershirt but kept the baggy jeans on. She continued running down the ally. Her breath was slow and even. She was used to running many miles and got into the rhythm quickly.

Footsteps could be heard behind her. Trying to run a little faster she started to gain some distance between them.

"Damn." She said under her breath and stopping abruptly. In front of her was a brick wall about twenty feet tall. She looked around wildly looking for something that would help her.

The footsteps were getting louder now and she acted quickly.

The group of cops that had been chasing her looked around confused. "I could have sworn he had come down this way…" One of them said.

"Urrggg! You idiot!! He could have gotten farther away by now! And you lead us down a dead end!" Another said infuriated. The sound of footsteps leaving could be heard and it wasn't until the girl was sure they had left did she dare move. She threw a bag of trash that had been covering away from her. Her hiding place had smelt horrible and she didn't doubt she smelt like trash too. She walked slowly out of the alleyway waiting at any moment for an ambush, but it never came. She sighed in relief and tried her best to fix her hair. It was in knots and fell in her face so she gave up and continued to walk. She just wanted to get out of there as fast as she could. Not many people gave much attention to her and occasionally someone would cringe from her scent. Other than that she seemed fine and in the clearing.

"Hey stop right there!" A call sounded behind her. The girl turned around to see a cop running her way. "Well crap." She said silently and turned only to see another cop standing just a few feet away on her other side.

**- Ok so the first chapter doesn't have much of Alex or MI6 in it but don't worry its coming. I just needed to start the story out telling the story of the girl first…so yeah. **


	2. My New Mom?

**AN- Ello there!! Well here is the second chapter!! Yay!! Hahaha It looks like people really are reading this story. Awesome. I thank you all who is keeping up and reading this! (Haha oh and as for the title…uh I kind of had no idea what to call it so… it got stuck with a weird name…oh well it's the story that counts right?)**

**Chapter 2: My New Mom? **

"You have got to be kidding me…" The girl groaned in the stands. To her relief she had not gotten busted for being suspected of being the Prince of Thieves. But what was bad was that she was now standing in court staring at the judge in disbelief.

"No I'm not kidding Tara." The Judge said sternly. Tara winced at her name. No one had called her by her real name since she was ten. "You are underage and running around the streets by yourself. It's not safe out there, especially with the Prince of Thieves running around." He tried to make Tara understand. It wasn't working.

"Well aren't I old enough to make my own decisions? Everyone who I have been stuck with me had turned out all the same." She stared at the judge indignantly. He was starting to get on her nerves. "Ooo lets go adopt some poor kid! Wouldn't that be fun? Just think of what the neighbors will think when they find out what a good deed we did." She made her voice high and sarcastic to fit the part.

The judge turned red getting even angrier seeing he wasn't getting anywhere.

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It was burning hot and the plane was stuffed with people. Tara sighed where she sat and looked out the window. She ignored the fat man she was forced to sit next to and looked out the window. She didn't see much since the wing of the plane covered up most of her view. Things had not been working out for her recently and it just got worse as she went on. First, she gets caught by the cops and has to wait in a temporary foster home with six other kids. Then, she goes to court and has to wait for five hours to see a judge who was really wasn't that great. Now, she has to sit on a several hour plane ride to England. Could you believe that?! England! Of course her 'supposedly' new foster parents couldn't live anywhere farther. Tara sighed. _I have no luck…if this keeps going on I think I'm going to go-_

"Nuts?"

Tara looked around for whoever read her mind. "What?" She asked.

A flight attendant lady was smiling friendlily over the fat man holding up a bag. It took Tara a minute to figure out what she was doing.

"Uh…no." She said and the flight attendant left.

It wasn't long until they were up in the air and the man next to Tara fell asleep. He started snoring loudly and Tara groaned. This was going to be a long flight.

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When Tara got off the plane her legs felt like jelly. She had a headache and wasn't in the best of moods. She looked around glumly for her new family she was supposed to meet. Sighing, she sat down in a chair and waited. She watched as the planes took off from the runway and yearned to be back on one home. She seemed to lose track of time as one plane flew in and another flew out. 

"Hello, Tara is it?" The voice sounded and Tara counted to three before she turned around to see who it was.

She looked the lady up and down. The woman had dark skin and smelled of peppermint. "Yea who's asking?"

Ignoring the comment the woman smiled and held out her hand. "I am Mrs. Jones. I will be looking after you for a while."

Tara narrowed her eyes catching the 'for a while' part. So it wasn't going to be permanent, interesting. She didn't say anything and just stared at the woman. There was something strange about her. Of course she looked like any other of the people she was stuck with but hidden somewhere Tara could see a hint of reluctance and remorse. She decided not to read too much into it. It was probably nothing.

The woman helped Tara with her bags, which wasn't hard considering there wasn't much in them, and they walked outside. Mrs. Jones skillfully hailed a taxicab and they were soon on their way. Mrs. Jones didn't talk much nor ask any questions, for that Tara was grateful for.

Tara was confused when they stopped at a hotel type place. She gave Mrs. Jones a questioning look but got no answer. She seemed to be deep in thought. It wasn't until they were in the elevator to head up to their room did she finally ask. "Uh. Mind telling me why we are in a hotel?"

"Because this is where we are going to stay for the next few days." Mrs. Jones said simply.

Tara didn't say anymore. Wow this one was odd…

They unpacked when they got to their room. It wasn't much, just a small room with two beds and a few pictures. There was a television set against the wall and a small bathroom. Tara didn't bother unpacking and just crashed on the bed. The last thing she remembered was seeing Mrs. Jones turning off the lights and switching on the news. Tara fell asleep to the sound of the newscaster's voice. She smiled unconsciously. Aside from everything she has decided to hate about England she knew the only thing actually cool about the whole experience was the accents.

When she woke up she looked at the clock and it read 12:47. She tossed and turned trying to get back to sleep but couldn't so she stood up and went to the bathroom. She threw some cold water on her face and walked back to the bed. She stopped midway noticing something. Tara frowned. Where was Mrs. Jones? Her bed was straight and perfect looking undisturbed.

Unable to leave the mystery unrest, Tara snuck to the door and looked out. There was no one there. She closed the door and went and sat on a bed. She waited and thought about all the possibilities. Maybe aliens abducted her, or worse what if she was an alien herself? Tara shook her head and thought of more reasonable explanations. She could have decided she no longer wanted to look after a teenage girl and split when she thought Tara wasn't paying attention.

Her thoughts stopped when she heard hushed whispers coming from somewhere. She looked around for where the sound might have come from and came to a door. The door was for connecting her room and the room next to hers together. But it was locked and she didn't know who would be up at midnight to whisper in the darkness…well unless they were planning something…

Curiosity getting the better of her she slowly walked over to the door and put her ear against it. It was hard to make out the words but she caught a few here and there. "Can't believe… can't do this… why… again…" Was all she caught before all went silent. Tara frowned and leaned in closer to the door causing the floor to make a squeaking sound. Tara flinched and walked quickly but quietly back to her bed. She lay down and pretended to be sleeping. She tried to get her breathing down to normal and let them out slow and even.

The doorknob turned and the door opened silently. Tara closed her eyes. Her heart started racing and she was afraid it would give her away. _Shut up, shut up, shut up… _She scolded it silently.

"I can't believe you are doing this again… can't you people just learn from your mistakes?" Came a male voice in the darkness. It was quiet yet still held a menacing tone. It was strained and anxious. Tara listened intently. She heard the other person sigh but they didn't say anything.

"Ma'am, we have gotten the conformation that they are moving." This voice wasn't as quiet but probably got a glare from whoever was in the room because they quieted their voices. "Mr. Blunt wants this operation to quicken its pace."

Yet another sigh, and this time she heard Mrs. Jones talk. "I guess we have no choice." There was a pause. "I will tell her in the morning."

An angry snort sounds through the darkness and then a slight bang on the door announcing that someone has left.

"He is having trouble getting used to the idea… he will come around." Mrs. Jones said and then they left without another word.

Tara was left lying there confused. _Who were these people and what did she get herself into? _

**AN: Well there you have it. The second chapter! Hope ya all enjoyed! I will try to make it more interesting as the story progresses.**


	3. Meet Your New Partner

**AN- Ok here is the third chapter! Sorry it took so long... with school and everything its just crazy... Usually I get to spend a few minutes on the computer if I'm lucky enough to get on. (Sigh) School is so tiresome. -.-  
Well anyway I hope you enjoy the third chapter!!  
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**Chapter 3: Meet Your New Partner **

Tara woke up in the morning cautious and confused. They, or Mrs. Jones was going to tell her today. As to what it was, she had no clue.

Once again Tara found no Mrs. Jones but a nice clean bed. There was a note laying on it in neat script. It told her to get dressed and join Mrs. Jones down for breakfast in the hotel restaurant.

After trying to fix her hair she pulled on her boots and headed down to the restaurant. It was big but not many people were around. It wasn't hard to find Mrs. Jones seeing she was the only person sitting secluded in the corner.

Tara walked over and sat down cautiously ready for anything.

"Hello, Tara." Mrs. Jones smiled friendly "Sleep well?"

Tara simply nodded and took a piece of toast that lay in the middle of the table. She couldn't remember the last time she had a meal she didn't have to steal.

Soon the waiter came with two plates of eggs, bacon, and hash browns. Tara's stomach growled. The temptation of food was too much and she dug into her plate. Mrs. Jones didn't do anything but sit there and watch her eat.

When she was done eating she looked back at Mrs. Jones. There was silence between the two of them for what seemed like hours. Finally, Tara decided to break the silence.

"You know, you don't exactly resemble a motherly figure."

Mrs. Jones's face seemed to be pained for a moment and was soon smiling again. "No, I suppose not." She reached deep into her pocket and pulled out what looked to be a peppermint. She popped it into her mouth and smiled.

Once again there was silence.

Tara was getting frustrated now. What ever this lady was going to tell her, she better just spit it out.

Mrs. Jones seemed to sense her annoyance. "Is there something wrong?" She asked.

Tara shook her head. It was all it seemed she could manage.

Mrs. Jones didn't look convinced, but didn't press the subject. "We are going to run a few errands today." She said instead.

_Wow… errands…_ Tara thought. Usually for a house-warming gift she got a stuffed animal or a box of chocolates. _What ever floats her boat._ She didn't want to think about it. While the two ate, Mrs. Jones asked her about her life on the streets and some of her hobbies. Tara answered with her usual lies. After years of explaining her life to other strangers she was stuck with, it became a habit. Saying, 'Oh, I hung out with two street thugs who would steal and sell priceless trinkets for cold hard cash. And some of my hobbies are going on heists and conning people.' Didn't seem to cut it,

After breakfast they went to the car. They drove on in silence until they came to a store. Tara opened the door and got out of the car. So far she did not even have one conversation with Mrs. Jones that lasted for more than a few minutes.

Tara made a face at the store in front of her. It was a store filled with cloths and different kinds of accessories. The store wasn't like Hollister or Fox, as she was usually customized to seeing. No, it was one of those rich stores. One you would think to see a celebrity shopping in or something. Tara was confused. Mrs. Jones didn't strike her as the rich type when she first met her.

"Pick out any outfits you would want." Mrs. Jones's words shocked Tara but she recovered quickly.

"Uhh… this isn't really my style." She said.

Mrs. Jones sighed. "I guess we will have to find someone to help you then." Once again Tara watched Mrs. Jones pull out another peppermint and stick it in her mouth.

On cue a woman who was way too happy stepped out from behind a row of cloths. "Hello, how can I be of assistance?" She asked. Her smile faded for a second when she looked Tara up and down. Mrs. Jones explained their situation. "Well it's going to be tough," The woman put on a determined look. "But I think I can do it!" She ran into the other room and after a few minutes came back in with an armful of cloths. Tara scowled.

The store assistant did not give Tara anytime to protest as she pushed her into a dressing room with one outfit. "Put this on and don't come out until then." She studied Tara again and shoved a comb at her. "And use this."

After three hours of much arguing and making faces they finished. Despite Tara's protests Mrs. Jones seemed to buy every outfit the assistant lady picked out. "I don't get why you bought that crap." Tara said pouting in the passenger seat with her arms crossed. "I'm never going to wear them." Mrs. Jones didn't say anything about the cloths and ignored her comment.

"We have one more place to stop." She said.

Tara groaned. "Not another cloths store I hope."

"No, not at all." Mrs. Jones said turning a corner. "We're going to the bank."

They got to the bank and it looked big. Bigger than any bank Tara had ever seen. She instantly made a note of the location and the security cameras. She was once again surprised when she followed Mrs. Jones past the security guards and just walked in. "Umm… do you work here?" She asked. Mrs. Jones nodded and led her to a room. _Wow, robbing from here might not be too hard after all. _She thought. Of course, she didn't dare try for something big. The security was tight enough as it was. She was lucky if she even got a few hundred out.

"Wait here." She was told as Mrs. Jones went into the room. Tara did as she was told and leaned against a nearby wall. She studied her surroundings wearily. The bank had a strange feeling to it and it gave her the chills. The quietness of the office didn't help ease the oddity of the place. Everything was too quiet. Occasionally a phone would ring and a soft voice would answer. Minutes ticked by and sounds of paper work could be heard rustling.

It startled her when the door opened and Mrs. Jones spoke. "Can you come in here please?" Tara felt her heart racing. She took a breath and felt annoyed that Mrs. Jones had made her jump.

"Yeah, sure." She said. _Probably to show off her new 'daughter'._She thought grimly. When she walked in she did not see the mob of squealing woman or grinning men she thought she would find, but a weird old man that sat behind a desk.

"Tara, this is Alan Blunt." Mrs. Jones introduced.

Tara nodded to Mr. Blunt and looked to Mrs. Jones. "So what now?" She asked.

Mr. Blunt sat there emotionless. "Hmf, you don't mind getting straight to the point." He observed. "So I will skip the whole tiresome act."

Tara frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"We need your help." He said.

"Huh?"

"We need your help." He repeated.

Tara was more confused than shocked. Mr. Blunt explained further. "We have a mission that we need help with and it seems you are just perfect for the job."

Tara stared at him for any sign that he was joking. "Ha! That's funny. You guys almost got me there."

"Oh were not joking, Tara." Mrs. Jones answered. "As you probably guessed, we aren't a normal bank."

Tara felt the shock settle in. "Yeah, you think?" She asked sarcastically.

"You are in the headquarters of MI6." She said.

Tara waited. "And what do you want with me?" She asked.

Mr. Blunt stood up in his chair. "We know your secret, Tara." He reached for something in a bag and put it on his desk.

Tara's eyes got big as she looked at the hat on the desk. It was black and had the words 'Bad Boy' written on it. "So, it's a hat…" Tara said calmly trying to hide her surprise. "I know you are going bald Mr. Blunt but don't you think that hat is a little too _this century_ for you?" The two agents didn't look at all amused. They stared at her waiting for her to finally grasp the truth. She narrowed her eyes and stared back at them.

"That proves nothing." She said after a while.

A grin seemed to pass momentarily across Mr. Blunts face. He took a remote and pressed a button that lowered a screen. Soon there was a video footage of her running from the police. Tara could feel herself go rigid as she watched as her secret was being revealed to these total strangers. For the first time in her life she found herself lost for words. "How did you- Where did you-"

A sudden burst through the door averted everyone's attention. "I think I can make you change your mind-" A male voice said but stopped when he spotted Tara.

Tara studied the young man who had interrupted them. He was tall and had fair hair. His size and features made him seem to be about fifteen but his eyes seemed to be filled with wisdom, of someone who has seen too much. She wouldn't lie to herself; he was even slightly good looking. A moment went by as the two sized each other up.

"Tara," Mr. Blunt said. "Meet your new partner, Alex."

Tara stared open mouthed. "Wa-wa-wait a minute. I didn't agree with anything." She said.

A triumphant smile spread over Mr. Blunt's face. "It would seem you have no choice."

She frowned. "You wouldn't."

Mr. Blunt did nothing but look at her. Tara glared back. She could break into highly guarded jewelry stores, no problem. She could run away from the cops and dodge their bullets, and even outsmart the tracking dogs that were sent to find her. She also has been hiding out with two other crooks that, throughout those two full years believed that she was a guy! But here she was now staring at an old balding man and couldn't think of how to outsmart him. Frustration made her cheeks go red as she continued to look for any errors in their trap.

"You can't do this." Alex said to the two agents.

Mrs. Jones gave him an apologetic look. "I'm sorry Alex but the situation demands it. And Tara is the only one we could get with enough experience on such short notice."

Alex seemed angry. "I don't care! That gives you no right!"

Mrs. Jones sighed. "You just don't see the immensity of it all."

Ales threw a hand in Tara's direction. "But you didn't need to get another! Just send some other agent whose life you _already_ ruined! Not someone else who has a chance at a normal life."

Mrs. Jones shook her head. "You see that's just it. She hasn't been leading a normal life. That's why she stood out to be of use to us." For the first time Alex looked up at the screen that was still playing Tara's escape from the cops. He frowned.

"You still can't put her through this… not what I have been through." Alex wouldn't give up. "You people just don't understand do you?!"

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**Well there you have it!! The third chapter!! yay!! I hope you people like it!! And also hope it hasn't gotten worse as it goes on. Heh yeah I know I have a lot of confidence in myself...  
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	4. The Mission, and Gadgets!

**Hi people! Ok... You are in for a lot of apologizing... Heh I guess I will start here... SO SOOO Sorry!!! I haven't updated in ages! But as I said before in... I think another of my author's notes...(I know I am pathetic) Is because of school and all the studying... Not only that but also the holidays have gotten in the way of my freetime so don't blame me!... It seems I have been having some major bad luck these last few months and my computer is freaking out and I have had to take care of my brothers and have had to deal with all the drama and... well I'm not going to stop annoying you with my useless complaints... Ha now I just sound pathetic so I am just going to stop now... Anyway! I hope you enjoy the next chapter to The Prince of Thieves! **

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**Chapter 4: The Mission…and Gadgets!**

Tara and Alex sat across from each other at a table. "We'll give you two some alone time, to get to know each other." Mrs. Jones had said after many minutes of useless arguing. Mr. Blunt had left with her and now Tara and Alex were staring at each other awkwardly. Once in a while Alex would sigh and shake his head. After about the fifth time Tara blew.

"Would you stop that?" She asked irritated.

Alex seemed unruffled by her anger. "Who exactly are you?"

"Why, I'm Tara." She said. "Your supposedly new partner." She folded her arms across her chest.

Alex shook his head. "No, I mean, _who_ are you."

Tara gave him a blank stare.

Alex sighed. "MI6 wouldn't appoint just _anyone_ to the field. You must have had some sort of special talent, especially if you aren't being put through the special training I had to go through."

Tara mused silently, thinking. "I can run a mile in six minutes." She said.

Alex frowned. "But, what about that running away from the police? What did you do?" He tried to retain a cool composition.

Tara shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe I accidentally stepped on one of their donuts. Cops can get really touchy about those sort of things, you know?"

Alex couldn't keep the anger from his face now. "I can't do this." He said to no one in particular. "She's too young and immature. I can't be responsible for her safety as well work the mission at hand!" He was standing up now and started pacing around the room.

"Hey, look here buddy," Tara also stood up. She stared at Alex intensely, her eyes narrowed. "Don't you dare judge me, especially since you've only known me for a few hours." She walked around the table and right up to Alex so she that her face was only a few inches away from his. She jabbed an accusing finger at him. "I am only a few months younger than you and I sure as hell know how to defend myself. So don't be worrying your little head of my safety."

Alex did not back down and met her gaze. "You have no idea what you're getting yourself into."

"I think I'll take my chances." Tara said venomously. Alex opened his mouth to say more but just then Mrs. Jones and Mr. Blunt made their way in. They probably had been watching them the whole time and had decided to intervene to make sure their little spat didn't turn into something more.

"I hope you two had gotten a chance to get acquainted with each other." Mrs. Jones said looking at the two.

Tara and Alex did not say anything else and took their seats.

Mr. Blunt seemed oblivious to the tension in the room and pressed a button that lowered down a screen. "You're mission is to follow and protect this target from any and all harm." On the screen a picture of a little girl popped up. She looked to be about ten and had her curly blond hair was pulled back with a ribbon. On the side of the picture were statistics. Jessica Harwood, the name read. Age: 10, Gender: Female, Occupation: Student. "She is the daughter of the multimillionaire Thomas S. Harwood. She is planning on attending John Hazelton's School for the Gifted this year and Mr. Harwood is having trouble letting her go alone. He has a… feeling that someone plans to kidnap her."

"And why is that?" Alex asked.

Mr. Blunt held up a crumpled up piece of paper. "Because of this." He said. A bigger version of it appeared on the screen. It was a note threatening Mr. Harwood. It wasn't very long, about two small paragraphs, and was written in neat floral script. 'Soon everything important to you will be no more.' The last line read.

"Wait just a minute." Tara said. "You mean I got dragged into this spy business just to baby-sit some spoiled brat?"

"There's more to it than just baby-sitting." Mrs. Jones said. "We want you to check out the school, the environment, the teachers, the students. Anything that looks suspicious. We want these criminals found and captured."

Tara sighed. "Yeah, but why do we have to do it? What about the regular cops, isn't this their line of work?"

Mrs. Jones cleared her throat. "Well, Mr. Harwood thinks that they are incompetent in performing the task."

Tara smirked. "He offered you guys a lot of money." She said it as a statement rather than a question. Mr. Blunt and Mrs. Jones looked at each other but didn't say anything. Tara leaned back in her chair and put her feet up on the table. "Whatever, this job sounds like a breeze."

"Don't get too cocky, Tara." Mrs. Jones advised.

Alex shook his head in disproval of Tara's indifferent attitude. Despite this, the job did sound easy. He thought. Maybe they just wanted to test Tara out before they sent her into anything big. But why did they have to send him? Was she seriously going to be his new _permanent_ partner? Silently, he hoped she would not. He didn't know how long he would be able to deal with her and catch up on the schoolwork he had fallen behind on.

"Be ready to leave immediately. Jessica is due to leave tomorrow and her father wants her to get acquainted with her new 'playmates'.

Tara withheld her comment on the matter. Was Mrs. Jones saying she didn't have to just watch and protect the girl, but also amuse her and play with her? "Well aren't we going to get any 'toys'?" She said instead.

Mrs. Jones frowned. "Toys?"

Tara nodded. "Yeah, you know like gadgets. You can't just send people out on spy missions without gadgets."

Mr. Blunt nodded. "Yes, you do get gadgets." Just then a plump cheery man walked into the room.

"Yo, Alex!" He said in a happy tone. "It's been a while."

Tara saw a grin cross over Alex's face as he got up to greet the big fellow.

"Hello, Mr. Smithers."

After an exchange of a few words the two finally turned to Tara.

"So this is your new partner." Mr. Smithers said. "Nice to meet you." He held out his hand.

Tara shook it and tried to put on a smile. It didn't really work to her dismay and Mr. Smithers laughed. "Anyway!" He said. "I heard you wanted gadgets." He swung his bag around and set it down on the table. Even though

Tara was against the whole mission thing, she couldn't help but feel excited with the thought of getting gadgets.

"So lets get started!" He reached into the bag and pulled out a square type of object. It was made up of many little cubes and had different colors.

Tara picked it up and studied it. She had a blank expression on her face. "A rubrics cube?" She questioned. Mr. Smithers held a grin on his face.

"What?"

"Its not just an ordinary rubrics cube." Mr. Smithers said taking the cube from her hands. "No, it is a highly advanced piece of equipment." He pointed to the white center square with the label facing the right way up. "What you do is you twist the top row twice clockwise and then once counterclockwise on the bottom row. This will activate a timer that will set off a little but effective bomb inside. It has a five-minute delay and you want to make sure you're a good ways away before it detonates."

He dug through his bag for yet another object and he pulled out a pair of sunglasses. They were big and had white rims. The lenses were a violet color and some brand name was scrawled along the sides. "Now these are my favorite. They can help you see where people have touched by showing fingerprints on objects. They also can help compare fingerprints with the press of this small button right here." He put them on (looking very weird I might add) and pressed the button. He took them off and on the inside it showed statistics and information about the fingerprints displayed on the table.

Tara moved around and looked on the outside of them. They looked like perfectly normal sunglasses from the outside. She was impressed. The gadgets made her trip seem that it could turn out to be a little more bearable.

"They also," Mr. Smithers continued. "Have a little mirror on each side that can help you see behind you like rearview mirrors on a car." He pulled out another pair that was blue and had a sporty look to them. He waited to see the two's reactions. "So what do you think?"

Alex grinned. "You have outdone yourself once again." Mr. Smithers nodded in gratitude. He turned to Tara waiting for her opinion.

She nodded and shrugged. "They're cool." She said wanting to sound interested but not too much that they think her an overexcited bozo.

Mr. Smithers smiled. "I actually haven't really had much experience inventing for a teenage girl so I decided to start out small." He pulled out a necklace that had a blue and purple butterfly charm.

Inside, Tara grimaced but did not let it show on the outside. She did not want to hurt the jolly heavy man, as he seemed to be the only one who did not seem to annoy her. "What does it do?" She asked.

"It is your average communications device." He held in his hand a little earpiece that matched the color tone of the skin and was hardly noticeable. "We needed some way to for you two to communicate, since you aren't going to be together the whole time. All you need to do is talk regularly like you would to a regular person and he will hear you as perfectly as he would if you were talking in his ear."

Tara smirked. "Well Alex, it doesn't really seem like your color but I guess with a little effort you can manage to pull it off."

Mr. Smithers laughed but Alex didn't look amused. "Don't worry Alex." Mr. Smithers said when he was done. "I knew you wouldn't be too wild for a necklace so I made something else." Using his hand he pulled out a box and he opened it. Tara's eyes widened and marveled at the Rolex watch he held. "The bonus about this," He said. "Is it not only a communications device but also tells the time!" He laughed. "Anyway, I hope you both like the hip new gadgets."

The two teens stared at Mr. Smithers but did not say anything about his new choice in slang.

Mrs. Jones's voice startled them. "You both will be leaving immediately so I suggest you get packed Alex."

Tara noticed her exclusion in the matter and put on a questioning look. "What about me?"

"Oh, you are already packed." Mrs. Jones said.

Tara continued with the blank stare.

"You know… the cloths we bought before we came." Mrs. Jones said.

It took her awhile but finally Tara remembered. Her jaw dropped. "What?" She managed to squeak out.

Mr. Smithers decided this was the best time to leave when the tension was high. "Well I will see all you peeps later." He said walking out the door. "Piece out!"

Alex had a smile on his face. Mr. Smithers was one weird agent.

Tara did not notice Mr. Smithers as she was too shocked with dread realizing what she was going to be forced to wear.

"What?" She managed in a tiny voice again. "You mean those frilly, pink, ugly…" She couldn't go on. She shivered. "The… bows…"

Alex grinned at Tara's torment. "Well I'm going to tell Jack the news and pack." He said. Tara suddenly resented him.

* * *

**So... I want to say sorry for giving you these useless and pathetic excuses for why I didn't update in a long time... Hey its late and I am tired and... OK HERE I GO AGAIN WITH THE EXCUSES! I AM SERIOUSLY GOING TO STOP NOW! Anyway, what did you think about the chapter? did you like it? **


	5. Barf Bag?

**A\N: Hey guys! Once again thanks for reading! School is going to start up again and I am so bummed... Hopefully I will have time to write and update... Right now I am also working on a different story and I'm not too sure if I wanted to post it up... so if I decide to then look for it kay?  
**

**Chapter 5: A Barf Bag?**

Tara sat in her seat and continually hit her head against the headboard. Yes, once again she was on a plane. This time though she was not sitting next to an overweight man who fell asleep and snored in her ear. No, it was much worse. This time she was forced to sit next to Alex.

"Won't you stop that?" Alex asked from the center seat.

Tara did not look at him and continued hitting her head. "Yes, I won't."

Alex rolled his eyes.

"Listen," He said. "If we are forced on this mission together, then we will have to actually cooperate and work with each other." His words seemed to hurt him as he forced them out. "I hate to say it but we will have to put aside our differences and focus on the one goal: to protect this little girl."

Tara stopped hitting her head and stared at Alex. She knew, and wasn't going to like it but he was right. She shivered at the thought of agreeing with him. She had a frustrated look on her face. "If I hold in all the things I need to say to you I think I'm going to explode!" She groaned.

Alex sighed. "It can't be that hard…"

"Oh, trust me… its hard."

Tara looked around and started digging through the pocket of the seat in front of her. She ended up pulling out a bag and dug around for more.

Alex watched her with a strange look on his face. "What are you doing?" He asked. "Feeling sick?"

"No." She said, now pulling out a pencil. "I am going to write down everything I have to say to you instead of actually saying it." She started scribbling down something on the bag. "That way I don't explode and we can both concentrate on the mission."

Alex shook his head. "Can't you just cope with this like a normal person?"

Tara looked at him and then looked down and scribbled something on the bag.

Alex groaned. "Oh, come on."

Tara wrote more on the bag.

Alex turned around and sighed. He gave up on her.

The two did not talk the rest of the trip each enjoying the silence. Tara slept most of the time or looked out the window. She could still not believe what she had been dragged into. She thought she had been so careful in hiding her secret too. How long have they been watching her? When and how did they find out? These questions ran through her mind and it made her mad to know she probably wouldn't get the answers until they returned from the mission. The mission, now that was another thing. When were they going to get back from the mission? Did MI6 think she had no life? Well… technically she didn't but she hated the fact that they didn't put that into consideration. Tara sulked until the plane landed. She couldn't wait to get back and hear all the stories that told of 'The Prince of Thieves' mysterious disappearance.

In the terminal they met up with a man in a dark black suit. His hair was graying and an also graying moustache covered his face. He drove them a few miles to a big mansion. In the front there was a fountain that shot water up in the air. Different types of bushes and shrubbery surrounded the fountain and the house was so flawless it seemed it could have belonged to the president. Tara couldn't help feeling amazed. She had never been to a mansion before. "Wow." She let slip.

They got out of the limo and left their luggage in the car. They would leave again soon anyway to catch another plane to take little Jessica to her school.

"Don't look too surprised. Were supposed to be professional, remember." Alex said.

Tara shook her head and composed herself. "I know. I'm not stupid."

Alex smirked.

Tara glared at him. "You got something to say?"

Alex did not say anything and they were let into the house.

"Mr. Harwood will be with you in a moment." The man in the black suit said and turned and left.

As soon as he left Tara took out her little barf bag and started writing down more script. When she finished she stuffed the bag in her pocket. Mr. Harwood came down a few minutes later. He also wore a suit but it was less formal then the chauffeur's. "Hi, Mr. Harwood." Alex said offering his hand. "Its nice to meet you."

"Its nice to meet you too." Mr. Harwood shook his hand; he had a confused look on his face. "You must be Alex." He reached for Tara's hand that was taken reluctantly. "And you Tara."

Tara smiled and nodded a greeting.

"I'm so glad MI6 had had taken up my offer and sent someone. Although I did not expect they would send children."

Tara opened her mouth to speak but Alex beat her to it.

"Don't worry, sir. MI6 is a specialized organization that is made up of the most highly trained professionals. Even though we are younger than most of the agents we are no exception." This seemed to reassure Mr. Harwood slightly but the look on his face showed he still had his doubts.

"Anyway," Mr. Harwood continued. He walked over to a chair and took a seat. He gestured for Tara and Alex to take a seat too, which they did. "I'm sure you both know your mission."

The two of them nodded.

"I'm really protective of my daughter and feel like I'm taking a big step of letting her go." He sighed. "But I know I can't shelter her forever and I cannot keep her from improving her gift. What you probably don't know is she is a very talented artist and can create magnificent drawings that will make you marvel. She is everything to me and I would be devastated if anything were to happen to her."

"We understand Mr. Harwood." Alex nodded. "And don't worry we will keep in touch with you."

Just as he said that a girl came running down the stairs. Her blond hair was tied up in two pigtails and she wore cloths that resembled a school uniform. "Daddy! I can't find my diamond necklace, and if I can't find my necklace I am not leaving!" She came down to see that her daddy was with company.

"Jessica, sweetie." Mr. Harwood said. "This is Alex and Tara. They are going to be the ones accompanying you to your new school."

Jessica walked around and studied the two like a hawk eyeing its prey. Tara had not dealt with little kids that much in the past but she knew this wasn't going to be easy. Especially with the first impression she got of Jessica. "They don't look like much." The little girl said.

"Oh, I know darling but they will be there to protect you."

Jessica folded her arms across her chest and gave her father a pouting look.

Tara stood and bent down to her eye level and gave her the best smile she could manage. "Don't worry. We will become the best of friends." You would think it would pain her to have to act this way, but it surprisingly came to her easily. She later came up with the idea that maybe she had been so used to making fun of people like that so she got really good at it.

Jessica stared at her for the longest time, and Tara was sure it was just a matter of time before she laughed in her face.

Eventually Jessica just shrugged. "I guess, since I'm leaving and Marie won't be with me, I will have no one to play dollies with. You could be her temporary replacement."

The corner of Tara's mouth twitched. That was not what she had in mind. "Sure, it'll be fun." She choked out.

Jessica nodded seeming to be satisfied. She turned to Alex next. "And what can you do?" She asked.

Alex shrugged. "I can do whatever task is asked of me." He said.

Jessica nodded again. "They will do." She said to her father.

Her father gave her a smile. "I'm glad you agree, honey. Now go up and go finish packing. We're going to leave soon."

"Okay, Daddy." She said and skipped her way back up the stairs.

"She can be sort of… demanding at times, but you need to know how to treat her." Mr. Harwood said once Jessica had disappeared.

Tara inwardly rolled her eyes. _You mean con her._ She thought. "Like the way you sent her back to her room with out her realizing she still hasn't gotten back her necklace?"

The multimillionaire smiled. "Yes."

"Sir," The butler had come in and he gave a little bow. "You are requested in your office."

Mr. Harwood nodded. "Very well." He said and turned to the two agents again. "Well, it seems we had littler time together than I thought." He stood up and brushed himself off, smoothing out his suit. "I look forward to your reports." With that he left.

* * *

Back at the headquarters of MI6 an agent brought in Tara's files to Mr. Blunt and Mrs. Jones. He set the folder on the desk and turned to leave. He was one of the agents in charge of setting up the plans and flights for that particular mission. He never did dare bother or question the decisions of those in higher rank than him, but this time he couldn't help himself. He was just too curious and thing didn't seem to be adding up. "Umm… sir?" The man asked, as he was halfway to the door. He turned around to look Mr. Blunt straight in the eyes. "I just wanted to know… why you put Tara out in the field so early?" There was a pause. "I mean, she has no special training, she is from a different country, and we are not sure if we could fully trust her… er… I guess I just wanted to know why she is so special. What makes her so valuable to us that we take these risks?"

Mrs. Jones did not say anything, as she looked over the files for yet another time. She had seen it many times before but her eyes were one of only a handful of people that were permitted to see it and most of those people were American.

Mr. Blunt was in his chair looking out the window. He watched the clouds that passed by and studied them for a moment. He did not look at the agent as he spoke."Lets just say," He said slowly. "There are things about her, to her that not even she knows."

**Yay! Thats the end of the fifth chapter! Did you like it? Do you have any ideas of what should happen? Anything funny I should add? If so then just tell me and maybe I will add it! Thankies for reading again and have a great life! **

**Later! **


	6. Just a quick question

Yea… So I have a little question…

I was just wondering that if I were to continue on with this story if I would get any readers. I understand I had not updated in a while and well...I'm not going to lie to you.** It was mostly due to laziness and school. **But now I am going to try to kick my butt into gear and since I am out of school **for the moment I think I will have more time to write.**

As I go back and read this story I find many errors in sentence structure and such that I must have been too dumb to catch before... and it might take a while to fix. (I'm never satisfied with stories so when I go through them I change a lot...)** I guess what I'm trying to get at is I want to know if I will get anyone reading this before I put all the work into fixing it while I could be spending that time working on a different story.**

**So here you go I'll give you a little pole and you can answer by review:**

_Should I finish the Prince of Thieves Story?_

_**a)** Yes! I enjoyed it!_

_**b)** No! It sucked!_

_**c)** I've already forgot everything... wait what is it about again_

_**d)** Nah, write something else._


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